Fresno Heart & Surgical is grateful for gifts

Recent generous gifts to Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital totaled $100,000 from donors who were impressed with the hospital’s leadership and its surgical programs.

“We believe confidently both in the mission and the leadership of Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital and feel honored to play a role in this special facility’s continued operations and growth,” said Cynthia Bruno Wynkoop, Esq., of the GL Bruno Family Foundation. The non-profit, public benefit corporation specifically assists the poor, elderly, distressed and disabled with its grants and gave towards the hospital’s area of greatest need.

“We hope that our multi-year gift will aid the Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital in its continued mission to be a preeminent surgical facility in order to serve those in our community with serious medical needs,” said Wynkoop.

Robert E. Smittcamp, president and chief executive officer of Lyons-Magnus Co. Inc. food processing, said his gift was directed specifically toward surgical services. “I’ve known world-class bariatric surgeon Kelvin Higa for years and I really wanted to support his endeavors in making that bariatric program a world-class addition to our community,” said Smittcamp.

The hospital received HealthGrades’ Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award for the past two years, putting the hospital among the top 5% in the nation. Only two other hospitals in California have achieved a similar distinction.

For the third year in a row, Fresno Heart & Surgical also received a top 5-star rating for the quality of its vascular care from the national independent health care ratings organization. Patients also give the surgical hospital accolades for its amenities, care and service; for the past three years, Fresno Heart & Surgical has earned the “Outstanding Patient Experience Award” from HealthGrades.

Technology the hospital is considering will benefit from other donations. Some of the projects include: HD flat screen monitors for the operating rooms, a hybrid surgical suite that would combine the advanced imaging capabilities of catheterization procedure rooms with the surgical, a highly advanced monitoring system in the cardiac catheterization lab, an MRI, and video equipment upgrades for minimally-invasive operations.

Erin Kennedy reported this story. She can be reached at ekennedy@communitymedical.org.